


the definition of paradise

by littlelamplight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, a rom com/canon divergence/lighthouse au fic, i basically wanted the twins and kara living in a lighthouse and it... went from there, kinda thing, minor majorly judging you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 11:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12341712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamplight/pseuds/littlelamplight
Summary: After moving away from everything she knows to a small, seaside town, Alex soon hears about the odd family living in the lighthouse.She doesn't hear about how beautiful the aunt is until she runs right into her.





	the definition of paradise

 

* * *

 

_ "This morning, with her, having coffee". _

\- Johnny Cash, on his definition of paradise

 

* * *

 

 

If there's one thing most people agree on when it comes to the family living in the lighthouse, it’s that they’re odd. 

 

Alex isn’t exactly sure how long they’ve been here. From what she can tell, no one seems to know much about them. They’re nice, is what she hears from everyone she asks, and they keep to themselves. The girl is sweet, the mother handles most of the local civil squabbles from home, and the aunt works as a diving instructor with the same people that employ Alex as a lifeguard. 

 

Aside from living in a lighthouse and being something of an enigma, they seem like regular people. 

 

No one bothered to tell her that the aunt is unfairly beautiful.

 

Which of course, is how she ended up here, flat on her back in the sand with a woman out of a fairy tale leaning over her, unable to do anything but stare. 

 

The sand is soft under her back, and she can feel the solid weight of the woman on her hips, the strength in her thighs as she rises up to cease the contact between her bodies. Alex looks up the long length of her body, her eyes bulging comically at the sight of her abs, exposed by the wetsuit that hands down from her hips, up over the fabric covering her breasts,  _ don’t stare don’t stare don’t stare,  _ to a face that looks like it’s been carved by some divine architect. 

 

She’s definitely staring. 

 

‘Umm… hi?’ 

 

The woman blinks, sitting back on her thighs, and embarrassment causes her cheeks to glow. ‘Hello’, she says, pushing her hair back, thick locks curled with salt, her smile as sheepish as it is dazzling, ‘I apologise. I didn’t see you’. 

 

Alex glances at the diving equipment dumped in the sand beside her, and smiles, shrugging slightly. ‘No harm done. You clearly had your hands full’. 

 

The woman tilts her head slightly, her eyes flickering over her, and Alex tries not to shift under the intensity of her gaze. She seems to light up, and says, ‘you’re Alex, yes? The lifeguard?’ 

 

Alex coughs, wondering if the woman is still aware that she’s sitting on top of her, and apparently has no intention of moving. ‘Yeah’, she says, shrugging one shoulder, ‘that’s me. Well, one of them’. 

 

‘My niece clearly described you as  _ the _ lifeguard, and I tend to take her word on such matters’. The woman offers her hand, and says, ‘my name is Astra’. 

 

_ Oh _ . 

 

Alex takes the woman’s hand, thinking about the things she’s heard about the lighthouse family, aware that it’s soft and strong, long fingers curling over her own to shake in a way that is a little stiff, but somehow genuine. ‘From the lighthouse, right?’ 

 

Astra laughs, a rich, beautiful sound that seems to vibrate through her body, and settle in Alex’s chest. ‘You mean one of the odd ones?’ 

 

Alex feels herself flush,  because that’s  _ exactly _ what she was thinking. ‘Well, you know. I’m new, and people tend to gossip’. 

 

Astra laughs again, and Alex wonders if it’s possible to fall in love with a sound. ‘Indeed. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, for example’. 

 

Alex blinks again, hoping that her blush isn’t too bright under the sun. ‘Is that so? Like what?’ 

 

Astra’s smile is a honest and beautiful as it is a little triumphant. ‘That you’re beautiful’. 

 

Alex feels like her ears are burning. She coughs, pleased that her voice remains steady when she says, ‘smooth’. 

 

‘I thought so’. Astra finally stands, the muscles in her torso flexing as she rises, and bends to grasp her equipment, heaving it onto her shoulder without apparent effort, before she extends her free hand to help her up. Alex blinks, reeling from the casual show of strength, and takes her hand. The woman pulls her easily to her feet, and doesn’t let go of her hand, and Alex finds that she’s reluctant to pull her hand away. The woman gazes at her for a long moment, and Alex can’t tear her gaze away. There’s something wholly captivating about the woman’s strangely coloured eyes, the way they seem to shift with colours as the light flickers. 

 

‘Have coffee with me’. 

 

Alex jerks, blinking rapidly, aware that she’d been staring unabashedly at the woman, and that she has no idea what she said. ‘What?’

 

Christ, could she be anymore obvious?

 

Astra’s eyes glint with a soft, knowing look, and she says, ‘have coffee with me. That is the traditional way of learning more about someone you wish to spend time with, isn’t it?’ 

 

Alex rubs at the back of her neck with her free hand, wishing that she could force her body to stop blushing so obviously. ‘Well, it’s usually phrased as more of a question’. 

 

Astra purses her lips, a faintly concerned look, and says, ‘well, I must get it right, then. Will you have coffee with me, Alex?’ 

 

Alex doesn’t understand how the woman’s voice can make her ordinary name sound so special. She grins, giving her hand a squeeze, and nods. ‘Absolutely’. 

 

* * *

Lara is mixing drinks, her hands moving in a dance behind the bar, eyes fixed on the television above the bar, when Alex turns up at her usual time.

 

She slides into her usual seat at bar, and turns her head to glance at the television, curious to what has Lara so transfixed. There’s no sound, but she gathers that Superman has performed another heroic feat involving a bomber, and she says, ‘anyone die?’ 

 

Lara shakes her head, shaking the mixer without taking her eyes off the screen. ‘No. He got everyone out of the building  before removing the device so that detonated somewhere harmless’. She blinks, clears her throat, and turns to look at her. ‘Your usual?’ 

 

Alex nods, tapping her nails anxiously on the smooth wood, and when Lara sets her drink down in front of her, she says, ‘why didn’t you tell me?’ 

 

Lara pauses, a faint look of alarm flickering behind her eyes, and says slowly, ‘tell you what?’

 

Alex takes a swig of her beer, and mutters, ‘that she’s hot’. 

 

Lara raises her eyebrows, the corner of her mouth quirking in amusement, and says, ‘who, exactly?’ 

 

‘You know who, Lara! Astra!’ She takes another swig, setting it down with the thought that she really needs something stronger, and says, ‘all those times you indulged my curiosity about the lighthouse family and you never told me she’s hot!’

 

Lara laughs, and shakes her head, giving her a faintly apologetic look. ‘I grew up with Astra, Alex. I suppose it just didn’t occur to me’. 

 

‘Come on, don’t give me that. You’re not blind’. 

 

Lara smirks, reaching for a glass discarded by Alex’s elbow, and Alex grumbles. She takes another swig of her beer, and mumbles, ‘I literally ran into her today. A little warning might have prevented me from looking like an idiot’. 

 

‘Perhaps, but she asked you out, didn’t she?’ 

 

Alex splutters. She wipes at her chin ungracefully with her sleeve, and says, ‘how the hell did you know that?’ 

 

Lara doesn’t do a very good job of hiding her smile. ‘She may have called me. May have babbled about the gorgeous lifeguard she accidentally knocked over at the end of her shift’. 

 

Her stomach flutters, and she coughs. ‘Umm… well… you know. It’s just coffee’. 

 

Lara shakes her head, sliding another beer over the counter to her. ‘Uhuh. You tell yourself that, Alex’. 

 

Lara turns away to serve another customer, and Alex stares down into the froth of her beer for a moment, a slow grin curving her mouth. 

 

Astra thinks she’s gorgeous. 

 

* * *

 

The day of the not-date dawns to find Alex sitting on the bench by the pier where they agreed to meet, trying not to glance at her watch, and wondering if there’s anything she can do to quell the butterflies in her stomach. 

 

She hasn’t been on a date since her half hearted attempts back in high school, when she still thought there was something wrong with her, and that she could convince herself to be interested in boys by just trying harder. 

 

She doesn’t count her flings in college, when she drank till everything blurred and drowned herself in whichever pair of soft lips she could find. 

 

Those days are long behind her, and she’s pretty sure she was never this nervous back when she didn’t care. 

 

She doesn’t really know what’s different this time. Maybe its because its been years, and she’s older, and Astra seems like a vision risen straight from a traditional myth about mermaids and sirens. Maybe it’s that despite the fact that she enjoys her job, and how the sun feels against her face, she can’t deny that she’s a little lonely. 

 

Whatever it is, she finds that she likes it. She likes the way her heart flutters when she sees Astra approaching her down the boardwalk, the way her lips curve in an instinctive smile when the woman beams at her, and maybe there’s no harm in being a little nervous, even if she has to wipe her hands on her shorts discreetly as she stands. 

 

‘Alex’, Astra greets her with that beatific smile that has the butterflies leaping in her stomach, ‘I’m glad you came’. 

 

Alex shoves her hands in her short pockets in an attempt to make herself feel a little less awkward, and grins. ‘Well, you did promise me coffee’. 

 

Astra is wearing a pale green singlet and denim shorts, and Alex tries not to stare. She’s used to seeing the woman from a distance in her wet suit, and now Alex can see the muscles in the woman’s arms and legs as the light plays along her golden skin. Her hair is loose as usual, and Alex finds her eyes drawn to that strange white streak of hair curling among her locks. If Astra notices her fixation, she doesn’t comment. Instead, she says, ‘I was wondering if you would… forgo coffee in favour of some ice cream?’

 

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘Sweet tooth?’ 

 

The woman nods, inclining her head down towards the ice cream stand further down the beach, and Alex falls into step beside her easily. ‘Does that surprise you?’ 

 

‘Not exactly. I think I’m just starting to get a bit of a picture of what you’re like. The fun aunt, right?’ 

 

Astra’s smile is a little sheepish. ‘If you mean, does my niece have me wrapped around her little finger, then yes, I’m afraid she does. It’s always frustrated my sister’. 

 

‘Is that what you do in your spare time? Frustrate your sister?’ Alex side steps to avoid a child racing down the boardwalk, her shoulder bumping against Astra’s, and she tries not to shiver at the minimal contact with the woman’s warm skin. 

 

God, she really is useless. 

 

Astra laughs, and there really is something musical about the sound. ‘I do a lot of things in my spare time, Alex’. 

 

‘Like?’ 

 

Astra purses her lips, shooting her a glance like she’s checking that she’s truly interested. Alex bumps their shoulders together again in encouragement, and the woman smiles. ‘Yesterday I spent some time campaigning against whaling’. 

 

Alex raises her eyebrows. ‘That’s a pretty good cause. Your sister’s a lawyer, right? Does she help out with that?’ 

 

Astra chuckles, her eyes glinting like she’s sharing a private joke. ‘Sometimes’. She steps up to the ice cream vendor, and says, ‘mocha ice cream? Seeing as we’re not getting coffee?’ 

 

Alex folds her arms loosely over her chest, and nods, the corner of her mouth crooked slightly. ‘Good guess’. 

 

She turns to gaze out to see as she waits, simply to stop herself from staring at the woman. It's one of those clear, gorgeous days, with the sun glinting off the calm water, a bright, warm day, the sky as vivid and blue as the sea, and Alex breathes in the sea air, the nervous tension in her shoulders easing. 

 

Moving away from everything she knew to a small, sleepy seaside town felt as rash as it did needed, at the time, and however much of an upheaval it might have been, it's at times like this, with any stress washing away, that she doesn't regret the decision. 

 

This place has been good for her. 

 

And days like this are perfect. 

 

Perfect for a not-date. 

 

* * *

 

A little later, after they've walked up and down the boardwalk, talking between trying to make sure their ice creams don't melt, they sit down on the edge of the pier, close enough that they could hold hands, if Alex could work up the courage to reach out.

 

Instead, she sits there watching the woman out of the corner of her eye, relaying some of things she's learned in her head, like the fact that Astra can hold her breath for over two minutes, has three cats that her sister is attempting to increase to four, and knows enough to have repaired the broken light at the top of the lighthouse. 

 

All little bits of information, all, somehow, very important to her.

 

Astra dangles her feet in the water, leaning back on her hand, and Alex tears her gaze away from the woman’s tongue as it flicks out over her ice cream. Her cheeks feel hot, though hopefully she can pass that off as being because of the bright sun, and watches the ripples expanding around the woman’s feet. 

 

The sea is calm and tranquil this morning, waves lapping softly against the sand, and the atmosphere between them is easy and companionable, even though neither of them are talking. 

 

Alex sighs contentedly, returning to eating her ice cream, and Astra’s head jerks up. ‘I’m not boring you, am I?’ 

 

Alex blinks, turning to gape at her. ‘What? No! This is… this is really nice’. 

 

‘Oh’, Astra’s cheeks flush, that sun kissed look that makes Alex want to lean in and press her lips against her cheeks, ‘well, I’m glad. I’ve never done this before. I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing’. 

 

Her heart does a peculiar, pathetic flutter, and she says, ‘done what?’ 

 

‘Gone on a date’. 

 

Alex blinks, unable to stop herself from grinning at the confirmation of what she’d hoped for. ‘Really? You’ve never been on a date? Have you been around blind people?’ 

 

Astra’s brow furrows, an adorable, confused crinkle. ‘What has sight got to do with that?’

 

‘Because you’re gorgeous?’ 

 

Astra ducks her head, busying herself by swirling her tongue over her ice cream, and Alex can’t remember the last time she was in such a good mood. The woman coughs lightly, and says, ‘now who’s being smooth?’

 

Alex laughs, watching the way Astra’s mouth crooks as if in response. She leans back on her hand, working on her ice cream, enjoying the taste of coffee, even if it doesn’t give her the same hit, trying not to think too much about whether Astra would taste like chocolate, if she kissed her, and how well the two flavours would mix. ‘Just so you know, you’re doing very well for someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing’. 

 

The woman huffs a laugh, and says, ‘well, as long as you’re impressed, that’s all that matters’. She runs a hand through her hair, draping it over her shoulder, to expose the damp patches to the sun, and Alex’s attention is riveted by the slender arch of her neck. Astra nibbles at the edge of her cone, and says, ‘so, what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this? That is the phrase, is it not?’ 

 

Odd, is how most people describe the lighthouse family, and while Alex has to agree that some of the things Astra asks her are a little unusual, it’s endearing, rather than strange. ‘Something like that, yeah’. She pauses, kicking her feet in the water, trying to remember exactly how much information she’s supposed to give on a first date without oversharing. ‘I’ve been here for a couple of months. Just… wanted a change of pace, I guess. City life was getting a little…’ 

 

‘Overwhelming?’ 

 

‘Yeah’. 

 

‘I can relate’. 

 

Alex smiles again, sticking her tongue against her ice cream until it numbs a little. ‘I was studying to be a doctor. I wanted to help people, but everything was just… kinda too much, I guess’. She could mention that her dad died a couple of years ago, and that in his absence the memories of him became too much, that it felt wrong to walk down the street surrounded by so many people who had no idea what the world had lost. She wanted to go somewhere smaller, somewhere quieter, somewhere where maybe, if things had been different, there would’ve been people who understood her loss. And she couldn’t go back home. 

 

She clears her throat, and Astra’s hand touches her back, a soft, gentle touch, like she’s heard the unsaid things in her tale, and the woman murmurs, ‘you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, Alex’. 

 

Alex gives her a crooked smile. ‘I know. But there’s not much to hide, really. I always liked surfing, and I’ve always been good at it, and I missed the beach. Thought I could help in a different way. Being a lifeguard might not be what I’ll do forever, but I like it, so I’m in no rush to go anywhere else’. 

 

Astra’s eyes are soft and warm, and she sounds genuine when she says, ‘I’m glad. I’d be sad if I didn’t get to know you’. 

 

Alex doesn’t blush, this time, but there is a warm feeling suffusing her chest at the sincerity of the statement. Her smile widens easily, and she tilts her ice cream at the woman. ‘So, what about you?’ 

 

Astra hums thoughtfully, a melodic sound that makes her want to lean in to listen more closely. ‘My sister and I moved here after Kara’s father died. Lara came with us. We wanted to raise Kara somewhere… tranquil’. 

 

Alex’s brow creases. ‘I’m sorry’. 

 

Astra waves a hand. ‘Kara was very young at the time. She doesn’t remember her father much, and what she tells us that what she does remember makes her feel happy, rather than sad. And whenever we ask her about whether… whether she feels like she’s lacking something, she tends to reply that she doesn’t see how she could, with two mothers and three aunts’. 

 

‘Three aunts?’ 

 

‘Lucy, my sister’s girlfriend. And Lillian. You know Lara, you must know her wife’. 

 

Alex nods slowly, too caught up in gazing at Astra’s face to conjure more than a hazy memory. ‘I’ve spoken to her once or twice, I think’. 

 

Astra smiles fondly. ‘Kara has a tendency to adopt people into our family very quickly’. 

 

‘She sounds sweet’. 

 

Astra’s smile widens to something almost blinding, affection and adoration shining in her eyes, and Alex thinks it’s the most beautiful things she’s ever seen. ‘She’s a gift’.

 

They fall quiet again, and Alex tilts her head to listen to the seagulls squawking, kicking her feet in the water again. A bell dings as a boy on a bicycle speeds down the boardwalk, and Astra turns her head, as if following the sound. The dappled light catches in that lock of white hair, and Alex says, ‘so, I have a question’. 

 

‘Mmm?’ 

 

‘What’s with the white streak? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like it. It’s just…’ 

 

Astra leans their shoulders together, as if seeking to reassure her, and says, ‘you’re just wondering why I have it?’ 

 

Alex nods, tentatively leaning her weight into her, bumping her foot against the other woman’s under the water. ‘It’s pretty noticeable’. 

 

Astra smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and says, ‘well, that was the idea. I got it for Kara, when she was a baby. It helped her realise that I was her aunt, and it always entertained her’. 

 

Alex drops her head to Astra’s shoulder, shaking her head, and says, ‘you’re adorable’. 

 

Astra lips press against her temple, warm and soft, but her breath is shockingly cool as it fans over her skin. ‘Thank you, Alex. You’re very cute’. 

 

It’s hard not to smile at the sincerity of the comment. 

 

Her cheeks ache from smiling, but Astra’s shoulder is strong and welcoming, she still has her ice cream to finish, and this not-date has definitely become a date, and Alex finds she doesn’t care.

 

* * *

 

Things change on their fourth date. Alex early as usual, sipping coffee while she waits for Astra outside her, or, she supposes,  _ their _ , favourite cafe, wondering if today will finally be the day that she’ll work up the courage to kiss the woman. 

 

She really, really wants to kiss her. 

 

A shout from across the street catches her attention, and when she looks up, she’s startled to see Astra standing outside the bookstore. Her hair is twisted up on the back of her head, stray strands falling down over her cheeks, and she’s wearing a pair of dark jeans and a denim jacket with a rose on the sleeve. 

 

Astra doesn’t seem to have seen her, her attention instead fixed down the street, and she lifts her hand to wave. Her face lights up, like an animated, excited child, and as Alex watches, a small, slim woman bounds down the street, and leaps into her arms. 

 

An awful feeling twists in Alex’s gut, and watching the two women kiss is somehow unsurprising. Her throat closes over, and the disappointment that surges up in her throat tastes vile. 

 

Almost as if sensing her, Astra starts to look up, but Alex turns away before she can meet the woman’s eyes. Her heart is pounding, and she hates that she let herself get her hopes up, hates that what was between them obviously meant more to her than to Astra, hates how it  _ feels _ . 

 

God, she needs a drink.  

 

* * *

 

Alex wakes up to a pounding headache, and the bitter taste of disappointment heavy on her tongue. She groans, pressing her face into the pillow. She knew that drinking would only numb the feeling, but in the face of the hangover pressing her down into her pillow, she’s definitely regretting the decision. 

 

It takes her a moment of groaning into the fabric to realise that the thumping is more like knocking, and it’s definitely not in her head. 

 

She groans again, louder, like the person at her door will hear her and know to back off. 

 

But after a pause, the knocking starts up, light but persistent, and she rolls out of bed to stumble around for her clothes. 

 

It feels horrifically early, and she really would prefer to have some coffee in her system before she speaks to anyone, but she stumbles towards the door, unable to ignore the sound. 

 

She opens the door, and stares, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment when she sees Astra standing on her doorstep, aware of her messy hair and rumpled sleepwear. ‘Astra’, she runs her hand through her hair to push it out of her face and folds her arms over her chest, ‘what are you doing here?’

 

It feels very early, though there is a headache pounding behind her eyes, and she’s never been a very good judge of time while hungover. 

 

Astra, by comparison, looks as perfect as always. Her thick hair curls down her back, held back from her face with a pale blue ribbon, and there is a flower, of all things, tucked behind her ear. She’s dressed in a simple white shirt and pale blue jeans, and the only unusual thing about her appearance is that she seems… a little nervous. 

 

But then again, Alex is hungover. She could be imagining it. 

 

Astra clears her throat. ‘I’ve come to… apologise. And explain something’. 

 

Alex feels herself flush deeper. ‘Oh, you’re talking about yesterday, right?’ Astra nods, and Alex waves her hand dismissively, like she didn’t drink herself stupid thinking about it. ‘Don’t worry about it, really -’ 

 

‘You’re upset’. Astra rocks back and forth on her heels, an uncharacteristic display of uncertainty that gives her pause, ‘and I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood something’. 

 

Alex bristles defensively, frustrated with herself for taking it so personally, for thinking that what was building between them was more than it clearly was for Astra, and snaps, ‘I saw you kissing someone, Astra. I don’t see what there is to -’  

 

‘You saw my sister’. 

 

Alex stops. She stares at Astra with her jaw unhinged, and the corner of the woman’s mouth twitches. ‘Your sister…’ 

 

There is a twinkle in the woman’s eye, but she’s clearly trying to keep a straight face. ‘Did no one mention that we’re identical twins?’ 

 

Alex shuts her mouth with a snap, covers her face with her hand, and groans. Her cheeks are burning. ‘This is so embarrassing’. She shakes her head, avoiding Astra’s eyes, and mutters, ‘I’m going to kill Lara. She could have told me’. 

 

Astra laughs, a soft, not unkind sound, and takes a small step closer. ‘Lara has known us for a long time. I’m sure it just slipped her mind’. 

 

Alex sighs, rubbing at her cheeks, and says, ‘well I suppose I should apologise for standing you up then’. 

 

Astra’s smile is as beautiful as ever, and when she shakes her head, the sunlight gleams in her white streak of hair. ‘No need. I was… hoping you would come for coffee now. You could come to my place, if you wanted. Meet my trouble making sister’. She pauses, and with a dusky pink hue staining her cheeks, produces a bunch of flowers from behind her back. ‘And I brought you these. From home’. 

 

Alex takes the flowers from her, staring at the vivid hues, an array of blues and purples and reds, delicate things that she doesn’t know the name for, and she runs her finger along edge of a single lush petal with a smile. ‘Thank you. You garden?’ 

 

Astra nods, and Alex feels her stomach flip at the delight shining in her eyes. ‘I do. And I love it’. 

 

Alex points at the flower behind her ear to distract herself from the way her heart flutters at the sight of the woman’s smile. ‘That from your garden?’ 

 

Astra takes the red rose from behind her ear, the corners of her eyes crinkling with affection. ‘It was Kara’s idea. I admit I was a little… unsure how to go about explaining. She said I had to look my prettiest’. 

 

‘You always look pretty’. 

 

Astra blinks, the colour in her cheeks darkening in a way that makes her look like she’s been kissed by the sun, and her lips curve in a mischievous smile. She steps closer, and reaches out to tuck Alex’s hair out of her face, before she carefully slides the rose into place behind her ear. Her eyes light up in that delighted look that always makes Alex’s knees feel weak, and she says, ‘I think I prefer it on you’. 

 

The woman’s hand lingers on her cheek, and Alex can’t tear her gaze away from her lips. She clears her throat, and says, ‘well, then let me get changed, and we’ll go have breakfast. And I think I would like to meet your sister. See if I can’t spot the difference between you up close’. 

 

Astra smiles, but she makes no move to drop her hand. Instead, she tilts her head slightly, and says, ‘I’m would like to kiss you now, Alex’. 

 

Alex’s throat goes very dry, and she coughs. ‘Oh. Okay. Sure’. 

 

Astra’s smile grows, and she leans down, close enough that Alex feels like she could drown in the sea of her eyes. She nudges her nose against her cheek, her eyes gleaming, and murmurs, ‘only if you wish me to, of course’. 

 

Alex scoffs, reaches out to curl her fingers in Astra’s shirt, tugs her down, and kisses her. Astra chuckles against her lips, a sound that dissolves into a soft sigh as she slides her hand into Alex’s hair, and kisses her back.

 

She tastes like salt, and something fruity, like herbal tea, and Alex can feel her smiling. Her lips are soft and insistent, and she makes a pleased sound at the back of her throat when Alex opens up for her. They kiss with the early sun reaching out to touch them, and Alex feels light in a way that makes her feel like she could float away. 

 

Astra pulls back, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and huffs a soft laugh. Alex blinks, and says, ‘what?’ 

 

Astra runs her thumb over her bottom lip, and murmurs, ‘nothing. I’ve just been thinking about doing that for a while now’. 

 

Alex can tell that she’s flushed, but she finds that she doesn’t care. ‘And? What’d you think?

 

The corner of Astra’s eyes crinkle as she smiles, and leans in to press a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. ‘Better than I imagined’. 

 

Alex grins. ‘Flatterer’. 

 

Astra leans in again, and Alex places a finger over her lips. The woman pouts, and Alex says, ‘let me just do my teeth and get dressed, okay? I kinda hoped to be anything but hungover when we first kissed’. 

 

Astra doesn’t stop smiling, and it’s hard to do anything but grin back with her stomach awash with butterflies and her lips still tingling. ‘We can’t always predict these things, Alex. I certainly didn’t predict you’.

 

‘Well, I didn’t predict you either’. With an over exaggerated sigh, Alex gives in, wraps her arms around Astra’s neck, and kisses her again. 

 

She can do her teeth. Just a little later. 

 

* * *

 

Alex slows to a stop, when the lighthouse comes into full view at the top of the hill, and Astra pauses beside her. ‘Is… something wrong?’ 

 

Alex shakes her head, a smile tugging at her lips, and says, ‘no, no. I just haven’t seen it up close before’. 

 

The lighthouse towers over them, the white paint covering its impressive height chipped and worn, exposing brickwork at random intervals. Ivy climbs up from the ground, curving around the walls, reaching ever upwards towards the third window, green and vivid against the pale blue sky, and Alex wonders if that’s Astra’s handy work, or if it was already here when they moved in. 

 

The cottage beside the lighthouse is so picturesque its charming, with flowers spilling down the slope towards the cobbled path, ignoring the old picket fence practically hidden under lush foliage. There’s a kid sitting in the front window, waving enthusiastically, and Alex lifts her hand to wave back with a wide smile.

 

‘It’s lovely’, she says, and Astra seems to sag a little, ‘very picturesque. Are the flowers your handy work?’ 

 

‘And my sister’s. Speaking of which, you may want to prepare yourself. She can be a little over enthusiastic when she’s nervous’. It’s said without a hint of irritation, affection crinkling the corners of the woman's eyes, and she links their arms together as they continue their trek up the slight incline. 

 

Alex turns her head to kiss Astra’s cheek quickly, and says, ‘why’s she nervous?’ 

 

‘She feels rather responsible for the… little mix up’. Astra returns the kiss, brief and warm against her cheek, squeezing her arm gently. ‘Don’t be alarmed if she gets a little emotional’. 

 

Alex raises her eyebrows, watching the girl disappear from the window. ‘Isn’t she a lawyer? They’re meant to be kinda good at hiding their emotions?’ 

 

‘Well, yes. She can be. But I doubt she’ll want to, with you’. 

 

Alex is about to question that response when the door to the cottage bursts open and the girl races out, beaming brightly, and she moves so quickly that Astra barely has time to release Alex’s arm before the girl is upon her. Astra laughs, scooping her up into a hug that has the kid squealing, and Alex realises that this must be Kara. Astra’s niece. The girl who told her to wear a flower in her hair. 

 

Astra props Kara on her hip, her smile warm and wide, and reaches out for Alex’s hand. ‘Kara, this is Alex. Alex, this is my niece’. 

 

Kara beams, shaking Alex’s hand enthusiastically, her grip tighter and stronger than Alex ever expected from a kid. Not that she really knows much about kids. ‘Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you’.

 

Astra flushes, and grumbles, ‘Little One, what did I say about embarrassing me?’ 

 

Kara’s grin widens, and she gestures to the flower in Alex’s hair. ‘That’s a nice flower’. 

 

Alex laughs, shaking Kara’s hand, and says, ‘I hear you picked it’. 

 

Kara has Astra’s sly smile. ‘I helped a little’. 

 

Astra drops Kara with a huff, and the girl lands lightly on her feet. ‘I think you’ve embarrassed me enough for the day, Little One. Where’s your mother?’

 

Kara bounds off towards the cottage, throwing her words back over her shoulder. ‘She’s inside, having tea with Luce and Lily’. 

 

Astra reaches out for Alex’s hand, seemingly without thinking, her eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘They’re here? I thought Lucy was leaving this morning’. 

 

‘Lily’s picking me up to take me to the beach with Lena, and Lucy’s staying for the week, remember?’ Kara turns around to walk backwards, rolling her eyes dramatically at her aunt. ‘You did know that, you know’. 

 

Astra shrugs, smiling at Alex as she fits their fingers together. ‘Well… I was a little distracted last night’. 

 

Kara groans, shaking her head, and says, ‘Luce is so right. You’re such a useless gay’. 

 

Astra flushes, her eyes widening slightly as she deliberately avoids Alex’s gaze, and grumbles, ‘remind me to tell your mother that that woman is a terrible influence on you’. 

 

Alex laughs as Kara disappears through the front door, tugging on Astra’s hand until she comes to a stop amidst the flowers. She leans in to kiss Astra’s cheek, then the corner of her mouth, before finally pressing a soft kiss to her lips. ‘Does she always tease you like this?’ 

 

Astra leans into her, a hand dropping to her waist to tug her closer, and kisses her back thoroughly before she replies, ‘no, but I’m afraid I do deserve this. I was a horrible tease when my sister developed a… crush on Lucy’. She sighs, a little dramatically, and shakes her head. ‘I must put up with it’. 

 

Alex grins, nipping playfully at Astra’s bottom lip, and says, ‘you’re cute when you pout’. 

 

Astra smiles, leaning in to kiss her again, and Alex momentarily forgets that they’re supposed to be doing something. Then Astra breaks away, the corner of her mouth quirked, her eyes gleaming with amusement, and says, ‘you’re a wonderful distraction, Alex, but we should go in before they have more material to tease me with’. 

 

It seems strange to think that only that morning she was moping around with a hangover that seems to have cleared with a good breakfast and the pleasure of Astra’s company, when now, she’s being welcome into the ‘odd’ family with open arms. She takes Astra’s offered hand, and if there is a spring in her step when she follows her into the cottage, well, Astra doesn’t comment on it. 

 

The woman sitting with her feet propped up on the kitchen table, however, does. ‘Oh look, it’s the lovebirds’. She has the kind of mischievous smile that makes her eyes glint, the corners crinkled in genuine amusement that tells Alex that there is nothing hostile about her statement. ‘Took you long enough’. 

 

Astra sighs heavily, and gestures at the woman with a tired groan. ‘That’s Lucy. Possibly the most irritating person I’ve ever met in my life, and my sister’s girlfriend’. 

 

Lucy looks like something straight out of a fashion magazine, sitting there in a pair of denim shorts, the colourful hue of her bikini top visible beneath the thin white t-shirt that hangs loosely off one shoulder. She tilts her glass in welcome, that playful smile curving the corners of her mouth, and says, ‘I hear you thought I was dating Astra? Gross’. 

 

Kara sits perched on the edge of her table, swinging her legs back and forth, and she laughs. ‘This again? They’re identical’. 

 

‘On the surface, sure’. Lucy leans forward to tap Kara on the chest, turning her palm over and flicking Kara’s chin when the girl looks down. ‘But it’s what’s inside that counts’. 

 

Astra glances out the window behind Lucy, and says, ‘that sounded rather mushy, Lucy. Is my sister rubbing off on you?’ 

 

Lucy’s smile turns a little sharper, something smug and teasing, and says, ‘if I’m lucky, she’ll -’ 

 

The back door bursts open, and a woman who can only be Alura enters in a whirl of colour and movement that makes Alex’s head spin. She looks so much like Astra that it’s a little startling, even without the telltale white streak, but there is something softer, around her eyes, something almost younger in her gaze. She fixes Lucy with a slightly admonishing look, and says, ‘you’ll have to forgive my Lucy. This is her way of testing people’.

 

Lucy shrugs a shoulder, shooting Alex an almost conspiratorial grin, and takes a long sip from her drink. ‘You’d be surprised how many people struggle with being teased’. 

 

Alex raises an eyebrow. ‘Use that trick in the bedroom a lot, do you?’ 

 

Lucy chokes on her drink, and Astra shoots Alex a look that can only be described as proud. Alura groans, covering her face with her hands, and Kara rolls her eyes, sliding from the table with a exasperated sigh. ‘I’m going to find Lena’. 

 

Alura doesn’t take her hands from her face. ‘She’s out the back with Lily’.  

 

Kara disappears, and Lucy finally stops coughing on her drink. She gives Alex a watery smile, and says, ‘you know, I like you’. 

 

Alura sighs, tilting her head back and muttering something that Alex can’t hear, her fingers twisting anxiously in the bottom of her knitted sweater, and she mumbles, ‘sister, please help me’. 

 

Astra laughs softly, clasping her sister’s shoulder gently, and says, ‘Alex, as you might have guessed, this is Alura’. 

 

Alura smiles, still worrying at the bottom of her sweater, and there is an undeniable note of anxiety in her voice when she says, ‘I’m glad to meet you, Alex. And I… I’m sorry for any distress I caused you yesterday’. 

 

Alex grins at her, sticking out her hand, which Alura takes with a look of relief shining in her eyes. ‘Don’t worry about it. Honestly, all the clues were there, I was just too distracted to put it together. Astra even told me about how she got her white streak so that Kara could tell the difference between you, and I didn’t put it together’. 

 

‘Huh’, Lucy huffs, shooting Astra a cheshire grin. ‘Cute, but easily distracted by a crush. Sounds kinda familiar, right?’ 

 

Astra gives her a filthy look. ‘Don’t you have some poor criminal’s day to be ruining?’ 

 

‘Nope. You’re stuck with me for a week, remember? Or did you forget again?’ Astra frowns slightly, a faint flush colouring her cheeks. Lucy gapes at her. ‘Wow, you really did’.

 

‘I was distracted’. 

 

Lucy’s smile softens, and she turns to look at Alex. ‘You’re gonna stay for lunch, right? And dinner? Alura cooks when she’s anxious, so there’s lots of food’. 

 

Alex glances at Astra, at the hopeful smile she doesn't quite manage to hide, and grins. 'Absolutely'.

 

* * *

 

‘Alex’. 

 

‘Mmm?’ 

 

Gentle fingers brush over her cheek, and Alex turns her face to nuzzle against the soft warmth under her cheek. ‘Alex’.

 

Alex inhales sharply, and opens her eyes, suddenly wide awake when she takes in her proximity to Astra's face. The woman is smiling down at her softly, and Alex feels her cheeks heat. ‘Oh, hey’, she mumbles, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes. ‘What happened?’ 

 

‘You fell asleep. I’m sorry, I hope you didn't feel pressured to watch Harry Potter with us’.

 

Alex chuckles, content to remain resting with her head against Astra's shoulder. ‘Your niece is really hard to turn down’. She glances at the woman again, and blinks owlishly. ‘Are those Wonder Woman pyjamas?’ 

 

‘I'm a great admirer of her work’. 

 

Alex leans in to kiss her cheek, and Astra turns her head to kiss her softly, making a pleased sound at the back of her throat. Alex smiles against her mouth, and murmurs, ‘did Kara get them for you?’ 

 

‘She did’. Astra’s fingers curve against her cheek, her thumb smoothing back and forth over her skin, and she boops her nose. ‘You’re adorable when you’re half asleep’. 

 

Alex grumbles, winding her hands in the woman’s shirt to pull her closer, and says, ‘well, it is late’. 

 

Astra nips lightly at her bottom lip, shifting to press her down against the couch, and Alex groans at the feel of her gorgeous, strong body pressed against her own. The woman hums against her mouth, and murmurs, ‘very late’. 

 

‘I should probably be getting home’. 

 

‘Mmmm’, Astra’s leans up to look down at her, her long hair swinging forward to curtain them in a heated, intimate space, and her mouth is curved in that smile that makes her legs go weak. ‘Or… you could stay. It’s dark out’. 

 

Alex swallows, her throat constricting, her heart picking up, and Astra seems to pick up on her reaction. Her eyes widen, and she says, ‘oh, I… not to… I meant to sleep. Not that I don’t want to, I mean, I… R - God’, she drops her head, hiding behind her hair, and mumbles, ‘I’m not good at this’. 

 

Alex grins, reaching up to push Astra’s hair away from her face, tangling her fingers in her thick locks, and pulls her down to kiss her. ‘It’s kinda reassuring, honestly’. 

 

‘How do you mean?’

 

Alex turns her head to kiss the corner of Astra’s mouth, and says, ‘well, you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen in my life, so if you were completely sure of what you were doing, it’d be kinda intimidating’. 

 

Astra frowns slightly, that puzzled look she sometimes wears when she doesn't quite seem to understand something. ‘I’m unsure whether to take that as a good thing or not’. She shrugs a shoulder, and bends to kiss her, her tongue pressing insistently against Alex’s mouth until she opens up for her, and Alex moans softly as the kiss becomes something heated and deep, shifting her hands to grip at the woman's strong shoulders. Astra feels like a furnace above her, and she’s found the woman's strength arousing since the moment she met her. She runs her hands down her back, following the lines of muscle, and Astra chuckles softly against her mouth. She breaks away to smile down at her, a sly thing, and says, ‘so?’ 

 

Alex blinks, trying to recall what they'd been talking about. ‘What?’ 

 

Astra's smile widens. ‘Are you staying, or going home?’ 

 

Alex scoffs, winding her arms around the woman's neck to kiss her again, and breathes, ‘after that? Definitely staying’.

 

She wonders if the way the woman laughs, rich and delighted against her lips, will ever stop giving her butterflies. 

 

* * *

Several weeks into her relationship with Astra, Alex finds herself back at the bar. Lara gives her a slightly surprised look when she settles onto one of the bar stools and asks for her regular, but doesn’t ask questions. 

 

That is, she doesn’t until Alex is on her third drink, and the place has quietened. 

 

The woman comes to stand in front of her, and gives her an expectant glance. ‘Well? What’s happened? I thought your relationship with Astra was going well’. 

 

Alex nods, her brow furrowed as she runs her finger along the edge of her glass. ‘It is. It’s going… it’s going really well’. 

 

Lara raises her eyebrows. ‘Then why are you here?’ 

 

Alex is silent for a moment, turning over the things she’s noticed through the fog of alcohol beginning to descend on her. ‘There… they’re kinda odd, aren’t they?’ 

 

Lara’s eyebrows incline further, and there is something like a warning glinting in her eyes. ‘They also happen to be my friends, Alex. What is your point? They’re  _ the _ lighthouse family, surely people told you they were odd’. 

 

‘No, no, I don’t mean… I like them… it’s just…’ 

 

God, how does she even word this?

 

‘You’re going to think I’m crazy’. 

 

Lara’s expression softens slightly. She picks up a glass and begins polishing it, tilting her head curiously. ‘Try me’. 

 

‘I think I saw Kara flying yesterday’. 

 

Lara pauses. Alex watches her fingers curl in the cloth, the tendons in her wrist straining, and she cringes a little, already anticipating the response. The woman sets the glass down with slow, deliberate movements, and leans on the bench. The corner of her mouth ticks up, and she says slowly, ‘sure you didn’t get started before you came here?’ 

 

Alex groans, resting her head in her hand. ‘Come on, Lara, I know how this sounds. But I swear, I’m not kidding’. 

 

Lara makes a soft, amused sound, and says, ‘so what exactly did you see?’ 

 

‘I slept at Astra’s last night -‘ 

 

‘Ho ho’. 

 

Alex flushes, the alcohol burning in her cheeks, and clears her throat. ‘Not like that. It’s just that it’s easy to forget the time when I’m there, and its a long walk home. Astra often insists I stay. You know, for safety’. 

 

Lara grins, a flash of white against her dark skin, and says, ‘yes, I can’t think of any other reason she’d want you to stay’. 

 

Alex grumbles, dragging her glass back and forth over the wood, and Lara’s eye twitches. She reaches out to stop her, closing her finger over the back of her hand, a faint grimace twisting her lips. ‘Alright, I’ll stop teasing. Gods, no wonder Astra stood no chance against you. She’s never been able to withstand a good pout’. She pours her a refill, and adds, ‘now what do you think you saw?’ 

 

Alex sighs heavily. ‘I got up to go to the bathroom. It was dark out, and when I looked outside, I saw Kara. Flying’. 

 

‘Just… flying?’ 

 

‘Well… no. She was smelling the flowers’. 

 

‘That’s hardly -‘ 

 

‘In the window on the second story of the lighthouse. From the outside’. 

 

Lara blinks, her expression unreadable, and says slowly, ‘you… truly believe that you saw a child flying?’ 

 

Alex sighs. She takes another long sip of her drink, and mutters, ‘I don’t know. I know what I thought I saw, but… but it’s impossible. Right?’

 

‘Precisely’. 

 

Alex groans, thumping her head down against the bar. ‘Am I going crazy?’ 

 

Lara laughs, patting her head reassuringly, and says, ‘they do say we all go a bit crazy when we’re in love’. 

 

Alex sits bolt up right, her eyes wide, and says, ‘hey, no one said anything about love!’ 

 

Lara’s smile is a little sly, and later, Alex will recall how easily the woman distracted her. But now, she just blushes, furiously, and mumbles, ‘don’t be ridiculous’. 

 

Lara’s eyes twinkle, and she hums. ‘If you say so, Alex’. 

 

Alex thinks of the way Astra’s shine when she sees her, of the particular way she pronounces her name that always causes her heart to flutter, of how she looks with the sun shining down upon her, and groans again. 

 

She never really stood a chance. 

 

* * *

 

For a while, Alex forgets about her conversation with Lara. She spends her days in the sun, waiting for the end of her shift when she can see Astra again, walking by the beach hand in hand, going back to the lighthouse, where Alex has spent more time than she has at her own apartment these days. 

 

It’s easy and wonderful, and sometimes she feels giddy with how  _ good _ it all feels.

 

So she puts the strange things out of her mind, until a day at the beach with Astra, and the rest of her ‘odd’ family. A day in the sun, with the water clear and sparkling stretching beneath a cloudless sky towards the horizon, a day listening to Kara and Lena run up and down the beach splashing in the shallows, of slipping beneath the water to watch Astra swim beneath the surface, twisting over and under like a mermaid that Alex once mistook her for, of cool drinks Alura prepared, of endless, easy conversation, and the kind of company that makes her feel like she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. 

 

Like she belongs. 

 

They’re an odd bunch, she thinks, mismatched people that somehow come together perfectly, and it’s the kind of thing she never really thought she’d have. A girlfriend, maybe, when her insecurities weren’t through the roof, but certainly not a family of this size, and with kids to boot. She's never really even liked kids, but it’s hard not to love Kara, Kara, who is busy covering Lillian’s long legs in sand while the woman leans back against Lara and pretends to be occupied with her book. 

 

She likes Lena too, finds it easy to get along with the quiet girl with large eyes who seems intensely interested in what she’s studying, who Alex often finds pouring over books about genetics and biology whenever she drops Lara’s house, who can listens with avid fascination whenever she or Kara start talking about how things work. 

 

Come to think of it, she has no idea how Kara knows so much about science, really. 

 

She doesn’t know a lot of things about this family, but she’s not afraid to think that she’d like to stick around to find out. 

 

Astra’s lips brush against her neck, and Alex leans her head back against the woman’s shoulder. She chuckles slightly, her fingers skimming down her ribs, and she murmurs, ‘you’re very distracting like this, Alex’. 

 

Alex laughs, turning her head to kiss Astra’s cheek, and says, ‘you can talk’. She trails her fingertip over the defined planes of Astra’s stomach, heat stirring in her lower belly. ‘And I thought your wet suit was flattering’. 

 

‘Mooooom!’ Kara shouts, and Alura looks up at her from where she’s sitting on the rocky formation that acts as something of a natural pier. ‘Astra and Alex are being gross!’

 

Alex flushes deep crimson. ‘How did she even hear that?’ 

 

Astra grumbles, dropping her hands from Alex’s waist with a huff, and says, ‘she has very good hearing’. 

 

Alex turns her face against Astra’s neck to hide her embarrassment, and mutters, ‘and here I just wanted to grope my girlfriend’. 

 

Astra chuckles, pressing her lips to her hairline, and nudges at her shoulder until she sits up. The woman stands, unfolding herself like a lazy cat, and stretches her arms above her head, arching her body in a curve that makes Alex grow hot around her neck. Astra smiles at her, a lazy, knowing thing, and says, ‘care to join me for a swim?’ 

 

‘You go ahead. I want to finish my drink first’. Truthfully, she wants to wait until she feels like she won’t fall over her own feet in the haste to join Astra, but she’s not going to say that. 

 

Astra shrugs, and walks away down the beach, pausing to lean down and wrap her arms around Kara, hauling her up off the sand to blow a raspberry against her neck, and Alex finds herself smiling as she listens to Kara squeal. 

 

Definitely not something she saw for herself, but something she finds she enjoys being part of. 

 

She tears her gaze away from Astra and Kara, searching for the other members of the odd family. Lena is clambering over the rocks jutting out in a natural pier from the beach, and Alura is sitting close by her, tossing a tennis ball over the sand to Lucy, and Alex grins as she watches Krypto zip back and forth between them. Lara’s dog is larger than any golden retriever she’s ever seen, remarkably intelligent for a dog, and he somehow manages not to hurt Lucy every time he bowls her over in an attempt to get the ball. 

 

A movement catches her eye, and as she turns to look, Lena stumbles, loses her footing, and goes tumbling off the edge of the rocky pier. Alex shoots to her feet as the splash echos in her ears, already running forward, knowing that Lena can swim but that that kind of fall could easily wind her, when Astra pops out of the water with the girl in her arms. Alex skids to a stop in the sand, watching Astra wade out of the water with Lena held securely against her chest, letting out a long, relieved breath at the sight of Lena looking a little shaken, but otherwise unharmed. 

 

Astra emerges from the sea, her skin glistening so brightly it looks like she’s made of gold, moving forward to deposit Lena in Lillian’s waiting arms. Lillian folds herself around Lena, drawing her legs out from under the sand Kara had half buried her in, and Astra pats her niece’s hair before she moves further up the beach towards Alex. 

 

Alex gives her a bright smile, and wraps her arms around her neck. ‘You ever thought about being a lifeguard?’ 

 

Astra laughs, leaning in to kiss her wetly, and says, ‘come now, Alex. You are  _ the _ lifeguard, after all’. 

 

Alex smiles against her lips, and lets the adrenaline drain out of her as she melts against Astra’s strong body.

All is well.

 

It’s not until she’s back at work the next day that she remembers that Astra was still on the beach when Lena fell. 

 

* * *

 

The next week passes as usual, wonderfully, easily, gleaming eyes and soft lips and the taste of the sea, but the day at the beach nags at her. 

 

She’s lain awake in Astra’s arms for hours, trying to figure out an explanation for what she saw. Maybe Astra had been closer than she thought. Maybe more time had passed between the woman tickling Kara, and Lena falling off the pier. 

 

Except she  _ knows _ that’s not right. Knows that Astra was still on the beach, and that she shouldn’t have gotten there as quickly as she did. 

 

She’s learnt to trust her eyes, and her gut, in her line of work, learnt to follow her instinct when she suspects, even for a second, that someone might be in trouble out among the waves. And what she saw was Astra, on the beach, and then somehow, Astra in the sea, out under the pier, mere seconds later. 

 

It doesn’t make any sense. 

 

And with this glaring fact staring her in the face, she can’t ignore the other small things she’s noticed over time, can’t ignore the memory of seeing Kara floating outside the lighthouse, that Alura sometimes moves so fast that it’s jarring, that Astra can hold her breath for so long that it’s worrying. That there are things about the ‘odd’ family living in the lighthouse that go beyond strange quirks. 

 

And she can’t ignore them anymore. 

 

Monday morning finds her walking along the edge of the cliff towards the lighthouse, silhouetted against a pale pink and orange sky, kicking stones off the rocky edge as she tries to think of a way to word her questions without coming across as sounding absolutely insane. 

 

_ How’d you move so fast? What are you? Who are you?  _

 

_ Am I going insane? _

 

She’s not exactly sure what makes her look up. But she does, tilts her head up and squints against the rising sun, and there, at the top of the lighthouse, she can make out Astra standing on the top level, so close to the railing that from here she can’t tell which side she’s standing on. She stops, every muscle going rigid, staring up at Astra with something like fear prickling in her gut. 

 

She wants to call out, but her voice seems stuck in her throat, and her heart is pounding. 

 

What is she doing?

 

And then, like the inevitable pull of the ocean, Astra leaps. She leaps away from the lighthouse, and plummets towards the ocean, spinning in the air, flipping over and over herself like she’s leapt from a diving board, rather than the terrifying height of her own home, and Alex screams. 

 

Astra, falling towards her certain death in the waves below, turns her head, and Alex sees an expression of astonishment cross her face before she drops out of sight behind the cliff. 

 

Alex stands there gaping at the place where she saw Astra disappear, her mind racing, thinking of how quickly she can get down the cliff to the sea, whether she’ll be able to do it before the waves smash Astra’s body against the rocks belong, whether there’s any chance - 

 

‘Alex?’ 

 

Alex spins around, and there, standing mere feet away, soaked, wearing an apologetic, anxious expression, is Astra. 

 

Not dead. Not smashed to pieces on the rocks. Somehow, impossibly alive, right in front of her, seconds after she jumped.

 

Alex finds she really only cares about the alive part, right now. 

 

Astra twists her hands together, taking a hesitant step forward, and says, ‘Alex, I can explain, I -’ 

 

Alex jerks forward, throws her arms around Astra’s neck, and kisses her. She tastes like the sea, just like always, and she doesn’t care that she’s soaking wet, that she can feel the chill seeping through to her own skin. She just presses herself as close as she can, winding her fingers in her thick, wet hair, and clings to her. 

 

Astra’s hands come up to press against her back, holding her close, and she breaks away to murmur, ‘Alex, I -’ 

 

‘I don’t care’. She does, of course she does, but right now, she can push that away because she thought Astra died, thought she intended to, and she realises that while she wants to know what is going on, she doesn’t care. 

 

Whatever is going on, Astra is still Astra, still the woman she loves, because yes, yes, she loves her, she knows that, she thought she was gone and all she cares about is that she’s  _ not _ , and she can put up with a little weirdness if it means she’ll stay. 

 

‘Not right now’, she amends, kissing her again, kissing her until Astra groans against her mouth and holds her closer. ‘Just… it can wait’. 

 

Astra’s fingers curl tighter in her shirt, and she seems to understand what she’s saying, in that way she always seems to understand her. She kisses her back, lifts her easily into her arms, and Alex wraps herself around the woman, and forgets about everything else. 

 

* * *

 

Alex wakes when the sun has set, her body heavy and warm under the covers, and turns her hand, reaching sleepily for Astra, only to find that she's not lying beside her. 

 

She rolls onto her front, cracking her eyes open, and frowns when she sees that the woman is sitting on the edge of the bed. Her back is curved, her head resting in her hands, and in the soft lamplight, the scars littering her back are easy to see.

 

Alex has always wondered about Astra’s scars. They're not the kind she’d expected to find on the body of a deep sea diver. She’d wondered, more than once, lying there at night tracing the shiny lines criss crossing her back as the woman slept against her chest, whether she had a hidden military background, weather she’d changed her name, whether she was running from something.

 

She’d dismissed them as fanciful ideas, but now she's not so sure.

 

She sits up slowly, hoping not to startle the woman, and wraps her arms around her from behind, propping her chin on her shoulder. Astra sighs heavily, gripping her hands, and murmurs, ‘I’m sorry I woke you’.

 

‘It's alright’, she says, pressing a kiss to Astra’s shoulder blade, ‘are you alright?’ 

 

‘Just… just thinking’. Astra leans back against her, and mumbles, ‘you obviously know that I’m not exactly normal. It's… something that I try to hide. In doing so, I often lie to people. I was trying to… work out how many times I’ve lied to you’.

 

Alex is silent for a moment, stroking her hands absently over Astra’s skin, before she says, ‘and?’ 

 

‘I’m pleased to say that I haven't, much. I had no… no wish to, so I deliberately tried to tell you as little about my background as I could. I've been… I’ve tried to be as honest as I can with you, Alex’.

 

Alex presses another kiss to her shoulder, and then to her neck, sweeping her hair away to kiss the bumps of her spine. ‘I believe you, Astra. And… you can always tell me the truth, now’.

 

Astra lets out a long breath, and takes Alex’s hand. She presses it to her lower abdomen, close to her hip, and says, ‘do you remember what I told you about this scar?’

 

The scar is a round, smooth circle with a mirror against her back, and Alex nods. ‘You said you were impaled by a swordfish’.

 

‘Yes. The truth is more simple. It was a sword’.

 

Alex blinks, shifting to sit beside Astra so that she can stare at her. ‘What kind of people fight with swords anymore? And who has a circular bladed sword?’ 

 

Astra bites her lip, and looks down at her hands, and Alex finds herself wondering exactly how many of Astra’s scars were caused by similar injuries. The thought makes her throat tighten, and she wraps her arm around Astra’s back. Astra’s expression crumbles slightly, and Alex realises that she looks afraid.  Anxiety bubbles in her stomach, and she says softly, 'hey... what's wrong?'    
  
Astra looks down at her hands, her fingers twisted together, and mumbles, 'I have to tell you the truth about what I am, in order for you to understand, but I... I admit I'm a little scared'.   
  
Alex sits down beside her, reaching out to take her hands gently, and says, 'does this have anything to do with you leaping off the lighthouse this morning?'   
  
Astra smiles wryly, and all at once, she looks much older. Not in her face, but in her eyes, and Alex feels her heart twist painfully. 'I promised you I'd explain that, and I will... I just...' she leans in to kiss her suddenly, her lips warm and insistent, and Alex can feel the tension in her jaw when she kisses her back. She breaks away, leaning their foreheads together, and Astra's breath is shaky against her cheek. She can taste salt. 'I don't... I don't want to lose this'.

 

‘Hey’, Alex reaches out to cup Astra’s cheek, stroking her thumb over the jut of the woman’s cheekbone. ‘I’m not… I’m not going anywhere’. 

 

‘You can’t promise that, Alex. You don’t know -’ 

 

‘I love you’. Alex feels, rather than hears herself say the words, feels the way her tongue brushes the roof of her mouth, the way her lips move to form them, but she feels no regret, no panic, upon hearing herself say them. 

 

She’s known for a while, and if this is what Astra needs to hear, in order to steady herself, then she has no problem saying it. 

 

The way her heart pounds at the sudden confession is worth it, for the light the sparks in Astra’s eyes. 

 

The woman bites her lip, her eyes wide and a little awe struck, and then she leans in to kiss her, a dizzying, heated thing, and Alex groans against her lips, wrapping her arms around her neck to kiss her back. Astra’s hand slides into her hair, her fingers curling tightly in her shirt, and when she breaks away, she stays close, close enough that their lips brush together when she breathes, ‘I love you too, Alex’. 

 

Alex huffs a laugh, nudging her nose against Astra’s cheek, and says, ‘you’re not about to tell me you’re a vampire, are you?’ 

 

Astra wrinkles her nose in distaste, and clicks her tongue disapprovingly. ‘What nonsense, Alex. I’m an alien’. 

 

Alex stares at her. She blinks, coughs, and then says, ‘well, my next guess was a mermaid, so you got me there’. 

 

Astra gives her a slightly confused look. ‘A mermaid?’ 

 

‘Well, you know. You live in a lighthouse, you spend most of your day in the ocean, and you can hold your breath for worrying amounts of time’. Alex smiles, and presses a soft kiss to the corner of Astra’s mouth. ‘Plus, you’ve got that kinda otherworldly beauty going on’. 

 

Astra flushes, somehow managing to look both pleased and perplexed. ‘Now you’re just flattering me’. 

 

Alex’s smile widens, and she presses another kiss to the woman’s cheek. ‘Maybe. But you’re my girlfriend. I’m allowed to’. 

 

Astra’s brow crinkles. ‘You’re taking this remarkably well’. 

 

Alex shrugs. ‘Well, honestly, it makes more sense than me losing my mind. Besides, we all know that aliens exist now, right? I mean, you live in isolation, but you must know about Superman’. 

 

Astra smiles, a secretive, slightly smug expression, and says, ‘oh, I do. He’s Lara’s son’. 

 

Alex does a double take. ‘Wait. Lara? Lara’s an alien?’ 

 

Astra raises her eyebrows. ‘Now why does that surprise you?’ 

 

‘Are you kidding me? All that time I was tearing my hair out about all the weird stuff I was seeing and she knew?’ Alex lets her head drop to Astra’s shoulder with an exaggerated groan. ‘I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or annoyed’. 

 

Astra chuckles softly, lifting a hand to card her fingers gently through her hair. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier’. 

 

Alex shakes her head. ‘I had no idea about Lara. You and Alura, and Kara, sure, but… well, she’s much better at hiding it than you three’. 

 

Astra grumbles, muttering a string of incomprehensible syllables under her breath, and mumbles, ‘yes, well. You’re very distracting’. 

 

‘And Alura?’ 

‘I believe she thought that the more obvious she was, the more likely I’d be to tell you’. She grumbles again. ‘She always has been infuriatingly stubborn’. 

 

There is silence for a moment, and Alex rests her head against Astra’s shoulder, absorbing everything. The fact that the woman she loves happens to be an alien. That this alien happens to love her back. Astra’s arm curves around her back, her thumb stroking back and forth over the joint of her shoulder, and Alex says, ‘I’m trying to remember what I know about Superman. His planet… your planet… it died, didn’t it?’ 

 

Astra sighs, a heavy, sorrowful sound, and Alex reaches for her free hand, gripping it tightly, half in apology, half in comfort, and Astra drops a soft kiss to her hair. ‘It did. We… we used up all our resources. Faced with the end, our leaders kept the knowledge to themselves. I… I like to think that our people… felt little fear, in the end. That it was quick’. 

 

Her heart aches, and she turns to press her lips gently against the woman’s neck, where she can feel tension, and whispers, ‘you don’t have to talk about it’. 

 

‘It’s… it’s alright, Alex. I… it is easier than it once was’. Astra rests their heads together, and her body seems to sag a little. ‘A few years by the sea have been remarkably good for me. For us’. 

 

‘How did you… how’d you get away? And… Lara doesn’t exactly look old enough to be Superman’s mother’. 

 

Astra hums softly, and murmurs, ‘we were uncertain whether we’d be able to escape our planet. We also… we believed there was a chance we could convince the elders to see reason. That perhaps we could… save our people. But Lara and her husband sent Kal away when we seemed to be getting nowhere. It became clear that… well. We had Kara to think of’. 

 

‘So you left?’ 

 

‘We did. With some difficulty. We weren’t exactly permitted to commandeer a ship, but we managed’. 

 

‘Sounds daring’. 

 

Astra chuckles, pressing another kiss to her hair, and says, ‘perhaps I'll tell you another time’. She’s quiet for a moment, staring out the window, her gaze fixed on the horizon, where the sea becomes the sky, and the world blurs to a dark canvas of stars. ‘When our planet exploded, it knocked our ship into something we call the Phantom Zone. Think of it as… nothing. There is no time there. We didn’t age, but by the time we emerged, Kal had grown up, and become Superman. There is an organisation… well, you can expect an official visit from Lucy, soon. She’ll talk about confidentiality and the safety of the country a lot, and she may come across as much harsher than usual, but she has our best interests at heart, and she likes you. It's just protocol’.

 

‘Is that why she was hanging around so much when we first got together? To work out whether I could be trusted?’

 

Astra pulls a face, one that makes her look uncannily like her niece, and says, ‘that was the idea, but I believe she and J’onn were more worried about me slipping up around you than your trustworthiness. I've lost count of the amount of times she's called me a ‘useless alien’’.

 

Alex smiles, nudging Astra’s ribs with her index finger, where she’s learned the woman is ticklish, and says lightly, ‘well, you’re the one apparently always nearly blowing your cover because you’re distracted by me. I’m flattered, of course, but she’s got a point’. 

 

Astra grumbles again, pouting in a way that makes it impossible to resist leaning in to nip at her bottom lip, capturing it in a kiss that has her toes curling slightly. Astra shivers against her, before pulling back and muttering, ‘it’s hardly a fair comparison. Alura didn’t have to hide with Lucy, because Lucy knew from the start’. 

 

Alex presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, unable to hide her smile, and says, ‘and Lara? I didn’t even suspect she wasn’t human’. 

 

Astra perks up. ‘No, but she wasn’t always so composed. You should’ve seen her when we first moved here and she met Lillian’. Her lips curl in a smug smile, her eyes gleaming with something like triumph. ‘There was a time when Lillian invited us all over, and Lara was supposed to be cutting watermelon. She was so distracted by Lillian that she brought the knife down over her fingers, and of course, the metal bent. But unfortunately, Lillian saw, and so we were all forced to pretend that Lara chopped off her fingers for a few weeks before she told her the truth’. 

 

Alex laughs. She feels almost lightheaded, dizzy even, with all this new information, and the love she knows is returned. Astra watches her with a smile, the corners of her eyes crinkled with affection, and Alex laughs and laughs until there are stitches in her ribs and tears in her eyes. She leans her head against Astra’s shoulder, wiping at her eyes, and wheezes, ‘that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard’.

 

Astra huffs a laugh, her eyes gleaming with mirth, and says, ‘it turned out that Lillian already suspected we weren’t entirely normal. Lena had found the knife Lara chucked into the bushes, in all its dented glory. I believe the girl kept it, as a… memento of the occasion’. 

 

Alex grins incredulously. ‘A memento?’ 

 

Astra shrugs. ‘Children can be just as strange as you humans are to us. Lena saw it as the day her mother found someone who would always protect her’. Her mouth quirks, and says, ‘and it turned out that Kara, for all our warnings about keeping a low profile, couldn’t resist taking her best friend flying’. 

 

‘Wow. You really are all absolutely useless’. 

 

Astra smiles, and gestures out the window into the night. ‘We came here seeking refuge, Alex. A place that perhaps we could learn to call home. There were many things that we weren’t prepared for’. Astra’s gaze shifts to her, her smile soft and adoring, and Alex wonders if there’ll come a day when her stomach doesn’t flip at the sight. The woman reaches out to run her thumb gently over her bottom lip, fingertips resting at the hinge of her jaw, and murmurs, ‘we all found more than refuge, in the end’. 

 

Alex covers Astra’s hand with her own, and turns her head to kiss the inside of her palm. ‘I suppose I did, too’. 

 

Astra leans in, and instead of kissing her, she wraps an arm around her back, and simply holds her. Alex sighs happily, pressing her face against the woman’s shoulder, and closes her eyes. Astra’s fingers, comb through her hair, and she murmurs, ‘I love you, Alex’. 

 

‘I love you too’. 

 

It’s wonderful in a way she can’t quite describe, to be able to say it so easily. 

 

She’s almost asleep, dozing against the woman’s shoulder, when a thought occurs to her. ‘Hey, Astra?’

 

‘Mmm?’ 

 

‘What’s it like? Flying?’ 

 

Astra chuckles, that sound that seems to rumble through her body, and her lips press against her neck. ‘How about I show you?’ 

 

Alex pulls back, blinking at her sleepily. ‘What?’ 

 

Astra leans in to kiss her, soft and warm, and murmurs, ‘come fly with me?’

 

She smiles, winding her arms around Astra’s neck, and says, ‘I’d love to’. 

 

Who would’ve thought she’d find her own star to show her the heavens. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this might be the most self indulgent unnecessarily fluffy thing i've ever written
> 
> also i think the real inspiration for this was the idea of alex realising that astra's hot and bursting into lara's bar like LARA HOLY FUCK
> 
> andddd i posted late but anyone who knows me shouldn't be surprised by now
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed these useless gays god i love them


End file.
